Classroom Assessment

Rethinking Classroom Assessment with Purpose in Mind, a new publication by the Western and Northern Canadian Protocol partnering provinces and territories, was developed with the goal of enhancing student learning. It focuses on the kind of assessment that is an integral part of regular activity in every classroom, every day.

The publication is intended to support teachers in assessing their students effectively, efficiently and fairly, and to serve as a basis for designing professional learning. It provides a framework for thinking as teachers and administrators work together over time, developing and using classroom assessment to differentiate and facilitate learning for all students.

The book, which is available in English and in French, is organized into three sections:

Setting the Stage provides background information about why assessment has moved recently to the forefront and why it is important for educators in all positions to understand both the changes that are occurring in assessment and the implications of these changes for policy and practice. It includes an outline of three purposes of classroom assessment—assessment for learning, assessment as learning, and assessment of learning—and a vignette, which shows all three in action.

Three Purposes of Assessment provides a detailed description of the three purposes of assessment that form the framework for thinking about how to select or develop assessment tasks, how to use them, and how to communicate with students, parents, and others about them. Case examples from teachers in WNCP territories and provinces are included in each of the chapters of this section.

Next Steps suggests that rethinking assessment is a process of reflection, analysis, deliberation and new learning for educators. This process involves building individual and collective capacity and can be fostered at the level of the school, the district or division, and the province or territory. This section suggests ways that educators might engage in the process.